My last name is pronounced shi-LAD-ee (roughly rhymes with beef patty). I love puns, cacti, eating out, and good punctuation in text messages. I'm a lifelong Latter-day Saint and I'm gay.

Friday, November 13, 2015

Institute Devotional

Today I spoke at the Tucson LDS Institute about my
experiences as a gay Mormon. A number of
people who weren't able to attend asked me to record my remarks so I did (with
the Institute's permission). I only
recorded the audio and the recording device was in my shirt pocket so there are
some rustling noises from time to time.
Also, there were some questions at the end of the talk that are a little
hard to hear and I apologize for the poor audio quality.

YouTube wouldn't allow me to upload just audio so I had to
upload a picture as well. I chose a
picture of me in Tucson because the people here in this corner of Zion have
been absolutely wonderful. I love this
place because of the people here (and all the saguaros, too). I stopped the recording after my talk, but I
wish I had kept it on because Brother Bauer had some really nice, supportive
things to say. He's one of the many
great people that I know here. I'm so
glad that he trusted me enough to ask me to speak.

And finally, at the beginning of the talk I reference my
favorite hymn, but don't say what it is.
It's "Because I Have Been Given Much."